Loveless Breakfast in Bed

I've been getting over a bad cold the last few days and feeling a lot better this morning, I badly wanted to rejoin the world and check out the LA Marathon festivities in Santa Monica. But a quick check on Google Maps showed red and red & black on most side streets and the 10 freeway leading to Santa Monica so I scrapped that idea. Instead, I decided to finally break open the pound of Country Smoked Bacon, Country Ham and Strawberry preserves I got by mail order from Loveless Cafe in Tennessee.

Well, it wasn't exactly breakfast in bed since I had to cook it but I hardly ever cook breakfast at home on the weekends so this was as special as breakfast in bed. Plus, who really wants to eat in bed and not brush their teeth and wash their face first? Frying the crispy bacon filled my apartment with wonderful hickory smoke and that ham was all salt-cured deliciousness. I also slow-scrambled some eggs on very low heat so they were smooth and tender (high heat gives you rough and rubbery eggs).


You can order bacon, ham, biscuit mix, preserves and all kinds of other goodies from Loveless Cafe. Their bacon is sugar-cured and hickory-smoked with no water packed in. The ham is aged for 9 months and also hickory-smoked. The jar of strawberry preserves is really good too - just strawberries and sugar and no other additives. I still have a pack of unopened biscuit mix from Loveless...waiting for a special occasion or a big party to bake some.

10 Eggs & Ham

Yes, I had ten eggs and ham for lunch today

That is.....ten quail eggs and jamon serrano (yes, my serrano binge continues).

I've been wanting to cook this meal ever since I saw another blogger post pictures of her brunch at The Bazaar. The Bazaar is Jose Andres' new fancy pants restaurant at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills but I've yet to go try it. While I'm waiting for my special occasion (and saving up my money), why not try to re-create what I can? I think sometimes I eat better at home than at restaurants.

I picked up the quail eggs from the Santa Monica Farmers Market. The Jamon Serrano and the fresh, piping hot French baguette came from Surfas.

(Note: The calories, protein and fat from 10 quail eggs is about the same as 2 large chicken eggs.)

Carefully crack all the quail eggs in a medium bowl. When cracked, the quail eggs won't split cleanly in two halves like a chicken egg because it has a thicker membrame between the shell and the egg. So, crack the egg and gently peel back the membrane and shell and let the egg slide into the bowl.

Don't worry if little pieces of egg shell falls into the bowl - just pick them out with your fingers.

Heat a skillet or pan and a little oil on high heat. Pour the bowl of quail eggs into the hot pan and immediately turn the heat real low (as low as possible) and sprinkle a little salt over the eggs.

Don't flip the eggs if you want them sunny side up (they look adorable sunny side up, don't they?). Tilt the pan slightly side-to-side so the egg whites spread evenly and gets cooked.

This was so easy and quick to make - about 5 minutes to cook. The only thing that really took time was cracking the quail eggs (it took about 10 minutes) but by the 7th egg, I really got the hang of it and it was much quicker.

Slide the eggs onto a nice plate and add whatever you want. In my case, I added a small piece of baguette, one slice of serrano ham and some mini sunburst tomatoes.

This was the perfect post-workout lunch - lots of protein, some carbohydrates and vegetables - my nutritionist approves! When you're on a diet, eat well! It doesn't have to be boring or bland.

Simple but Delicious Meal in 5 Minutes!

This is my revised 5-minute version of the Croque Monsieur/Madame. Well, okay, it's really a "fancy" ham and egg sandwich. But it's healthy, quick, easy and great as breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Slice a piece of fresh baguette in half and put two slices of Jamon Serrano or prosciutto on the baguette. I like going to Surfas for these two items because they sell fresh French baguettes and their jamon and prosciutto selection is great; plus I live close to by.

Scrambled. Overeasy. Sunny side up. Poached. Hardboiled. I love eggs and I can have them any time of the day. Here, I cooked one egg overeasy and I slow-scrambled the other one. I highly recommend slow scrambling your eggs because the eggs will come out moist and "eggy" without the need to add butter or milk. Just add a little oil to your pan and heat it up. As soon as you pour your eggs in, turn the fire real low - as low as possible. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon or a spatula that won't melt until the eggs looks solid.

Put warms eggs on top of your jamon so the eggs will melt the meat's fat. Add cheese in between if you wish. I had cherry tomatoes from my Farmers Market run so I added that to my meal for a balanced meal.

I'm a big fan of Farmers Markets. If you have one near you, stock up on whatever is in season; it'll give variety to your meals and help you get creative. I'm in sunny Los Angeles so I'm up to my ears in tomatoes right now and I'm using them as snacks, side dishes, and fresh pasta sauce. Get organic, free-range eggs from the farmers too. They are worth the splurge for that creamy orange egg yolk; your egg will actually taste like an egg.